Chapter 469: Taking a song requisitioned by the state to fight against the unfair competition format

The final battle of the "Masked Singer" finals.

Before 7 PM, the venue was full of audience.

With the help of CCTV’s announcement,

Even without a warm-up singer, the atmosphere was directly pulled to the max.

They held support signs to cheer for their favorite singers, and the shouting and cheering were endless.

Amidst the cheers.

The backstage also entered the final countdown.

"3"

"2"

"1"

With the end of the countdown, Li Hao, in a black suit, walked onto the stage.

"Audience friends watching the live broadcast on the scene, in front of the TV, and on major online platforms."

"Good evening, everyone."

"This is the scene of 'Masked Singer,' a music variety show created by Sujiang TV and Canxing."

"I am your old friend Li Hao."

"Tonight, in the No. 1 studio hall of Jinling, the champion of this season’s 'Masked Singer' will be determined, and the honorary title of Masked Singer King will be awarded."

"They will receive the support of the three major music platforms on the entire network to tailor a digital album for them."

"And have the opportunity to participate in the recording of the Sujiang TV New Year’s Eve Eve Gala and the Spring Festival Eve Gala."

“This program is brought to you by the special sponsorship of...”

“.......”

Li Hao read for a full ten minutes before he finished the cue cards.

And that was after politely declining some sponsors; otherwise, he feared he would have been reading advertising cue cards all night.

“Let us welcome the members of our guest judging panel for this season.”

Li Hao let out a sigh of relief, put his hands behind his back to wipe away sweat, and nodded with a smile.

Just like the previous episode,

the guests for the grand finale remained the same six people: South Xue, North Zhang, Deng Deng Ziqi, Zhou Shen, Zhang Yu, and Li Li Zhien.

“In the second half of the grand finale, four contestants will join as replacements to compete for the title of Masked Singer King.”

“The second round will adopt a solo or team battle format for PK.”

“You may compete individually or as a team.”

“Finally, the champion will be decided based on the votes from the public jury, the guest judging panel, the live audience, and the livestream viewers.”

As Li Hao spoke, the big screen displayed the performance order of the contestants.

“Holy crap! Why is Tropical Rainforest the closing act again? This is way too much pressure.”

“Hey! Something’s not right! Why did all the other contestants choose the team mode, while only Tropical Rainforest is doing a solo battle?”

“It really is true; the other seven groups of contestants all seem to have guest singers.”

“I heard online that it’s because Tropical Rainforest offended the show’s top management, so this is being done to target him on purpose.”

“Damn! Don’t say that, it’s actually quite possible. Based on his previous performances, Tropical Rainforest would have won the championship without a doubt, but now a bunch of national-level singers have suddenly been parachuted in, and they all have teams. How the hell is he supposed to play this?”

“It’s literally hell-level difficulty! I have a feeling Tropical Rainforest is in for a rough time in this final episode.”

“......”

However, before the netizens could even digest this information, a bombshell hit them by surprise.

“What! Only the winning contestant gets to unmask?”

“Are you kidding me? Isn’t this clearly targeting Tropical Rainforest?”

“Sujiang TV is just giving up on this massive traffic? This god-tier move really makes me laugh.”

While Lin Yu’s fans were singing doom and gloom, the die-hard fans of the other contestants were beaming with joy.

Fans of the various groups online also started a mode of mutual mudslinging.

Of course, a large portion of these comments were actually paid internet trolls hired by Sujiang TV to stir up hype.

This war of words, combined with the boost from CCTV, pushed Masked Singer straight to the top of the trending search list.

Even before the livestream started, it already had over five million online viewers.

It also set a new record for domestic music variety show livestreams.

The guest judging panel.

“This competition format is actually quite interesting.”

Xue Xue Zhiqian looked at the report provided by the production team and nodded repeatedly.

“However, everyone else is competing in teams, so why didn’t Tropical Rainforest choose a partner?”

Seeing this, Da Da Zhangwei was also somewhat puzzled; this person was clearly at a disadvantage in a group setting!

Others have guest singers, which is equivalent to having the support of two fanbases. Doesn’t this make Tropical Rainforest a 1v14?

“......”

When Zhou Shen saw this scene, his face turned gloomy. It was too targeted, too excessive. This was clearly bullying Brother Yu. Whoever wants to come next season can come; I’m not being a guest anymore.

“Hmph.”

Li Li Zhien, on the other hand, crossed her arms over her chest, looking carefree as if heaven had eyes.

This gigolo who lives off women deserves to be targeted by the production team. With this kind of character and artistic integrity, no wonder he couldn’t get a guest singer. Hurry up and eliminate him.

She even had a date to eat with Lin Yu tonight!

However, when the big screen scrolled to the next page of performance tracks,

all the audience members erupted.

“'Ten Thousand Frontiers'? What song is this? I’ve never heard of it. Could it be...?”

“Holy crap! I’ve got goosebumps. The promotional song for CCTV is actually an original by Tropical Rainforest.”

“Good heavens! Is he going to use a song requisitioned by the state to go head-to-head with the competition format?”

The scene of the Masked Singer grand finale.

Because it was the final battle, almost all the contestants held nothing back, bringing out their ultimate hidden skills.

Being professional-level, top-tier national singers, such an opportunity to compete on the same stage was hard to come by.

Amidst the cheers and shouts, the seven groups of contestants took the stage one after another, instantly setting the whole venue on fire.

The first group to take the stage was Herbivore.

They brought a performance of “Night of Ulaanbaatar.”

The two singers were quickly guessed by the audience.

“Tengger and Tan Tan Weiwei.”

“That’s right! I’d recognize that vocal range even if they were turned to ash. Sister Tan Weiwei’s voice is just too domineering.”

“Teacher Tengger is actually using Mongolian! It sounds so good!”

And the second group.

Sun Nan and Sha Sha Baoliang’s “On-the-Dot Mosquito Coil” combination,

competed in high notes on stage, echoing throughout the venue.

The third group.

Zeng Yi even went as far as to invite his old partner Ling Hua,

bringing a standard Phoenix Legend-style duet that blew up the stage with perfect chemistry.

The fourth group.

The fifth group.

The sixth group.

The seventh group.

The two people in each group cooperated seamlessly, and the audience was thrilled, as if they were at the most top-tier music festival in the country.

It was simply a ceiling-level audiovisual feast.

“It’s over! How is Tropical Rainforest supposed to compete with this?”

“I suggest he just withdraw and go home now. Take advantage of the fact that there’s no traffic outside yet, hurry and leave.”

“Production team, you can just vote now. This is a battle of gods; don’t let Tropical Rainforest come up and make a fool of himself.”

“There’s no way around it. An individual versus a group is clearly a disadvantage. Tropical Rainforest has neither the right time, the right place, nor the right people. It would be a miracle if he could win.”

“.......”

The livestream comments and the live audience were all singing doom and gloom.

The guest judging panel was the same.

Xue Xue Zhiqian and Da Da Zhangwei, who had previously praised Tropical Rainforest’s overflowing talent, now dared not speak recklessly.

Most of the contestants off-stage were veterans of the music scene; they weren’t people anyone could just evaluate at will.

“Not to mention others, if it were me up there, I’d only be at the bottom.”

The veteran Zhang Yu shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed.

“I hope the contestant Tropical Rainforest can keep his composure.”

Deng Deng Ziqi was also quite moved.

Once upon a time, she too had stood on such a stage, facing the siege of national and professional teams.

Now, Tropical Rainforest’s situation was even more dire than hers back then; the possibility of a 1v14 was almost non-existent.

“......”

Seeing this, Zhou Shen also sighed deeply.

He had thought these music giants came just to go through the motions, but he didn’t expect them to be here for first place and friendship second.

How is Brother Yu supposed to play this!